How Do You Protect Upholstery Fabric From Fading?
Natural sunlight makes any room feel more luxurious. It can brighten colors and even create the illusion of a larger space. However sunlight can cause your finest fabrics to fade over time. Is it possible to protect your fine furniture from fading?
Testing Anti-Fading Fabric Treatments
Our Fiber-Seal did extensive testing to determine the validity of the claims made by “anti-fading” fabric treatment that are currently on the market.
One company claimed that their product reduces fading up to 40%. Tests were conducted using a Xenon Arc lamp, which comes the closest to duplicating natural sunlight.
Results of the test showed that the anti-fading treatment made no change in the degree of color change.
The fabric on the left was untreated, and the fabric on the right was treated with anti-fading fabric treatment.
Silk Fabrics Are Very Sensitive To Sun Fading
When you want to protect fabric upholstery from fading, the best thing to do is to keep your fine furniture out of direct sunlight.
Here Are 5 Ways To Protect Your Fabric Upholstery From The Sun.
1. Close The Curtains And Drapery
High quality blackout curtains and heavy drapery will block up to 90% of the light from your windows. They can also keep the air warmer during winter and cooler during the summer.
Keep your drapery drawn (open) when it is evening and when the sun is no longer shining directly onto your upholstery. Close the drapes when your furniture is receiving direct sunlight.
2. Flip & Fluff Cushions
Cushions can be flipped and fluffed periodically and rotated in order to reduce the exposure to the sun. This also helps spread the wear on your cushions and will aid in a longer life for upholstery fabrics.
3. Consider Protective Coverings
It may seem crazy to cover a piece of furniture that you’ve invested time and money in and fallen in love with. However, protective coverings can keep your favorite furniture hidden from the sun’s harmful rays.
You can remove the coverings when you are hosting guests. Protective slip coverings can keep your fabric upholstery safe from spills, dust, dirt, and the sun.
4. UV Protective Window Film
Window film can protect your home from UV rays and can help preserve the color of fabrics, carpets and hardwood floors. Some window film can block up to 99% of the sun’s harmful UV rays.
5. Rearrange The Room
Rearrange the furniture to keep it out of direct sunlight. You can move your finest pieces of furniture to places in the room with the least amount of sun exposure.
Even the smallest reduction in the time your furniture is exposed to UV rays will help.
Call our professional fabric team when you want expert help cleaning and maintaining your finest pieces of furniture and upholstery.
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